Hermione Joins the Avengers
by Queen MetaKnight
Summary: In this alternate universe, Hermione is recruited to join the Avengers. She will be joining some of the fan-favorite members of the Avengers, and there will also be some characters dropping in from the Wizarding World to help or hinder her.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Joins the Avengers

Chapter 1

Perth, Australia.

September 14th, 2000

" _Alohamora_ ," Hermione whispered to her Dragon-Heartstring wand as she waved it over the magnetic lock. The door clicked and swung open to a well-lit hallway. She was looking for a couple of former dentists in apartment 456. Four years ago she had been a little sloppy with a memory wipe, her parents were supposed to be in the suburbs of Sydney working as dentists rather than as janitors for an office building. She'd spent the last two years traveling across Australia looking for somebody who didn't exist. _On the bright side_ , Hermione thought to herself, _at least there was no chance of Voldemort ever tracking them down._

Hermione walked down, the hallway, sweating nervously. It had taken a Muggle private eye to find her parents. When she finally reached the doorway, she realized she hadn't made a decision. She stood their silently with both her hands raised, one grasping her wand and the other clenched in a fist to knock on the door. Hermione stowed her wand and pulled out the photo album she had brought to prove who she was. A few charms would be able to restore basic skills that Obliviate had purged, but she would need tangible proof of who she was in order to make it work completely. Hermione gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and knocked on the door.

Almost immediately the door swung open, and a tall, black man with an eye patch stood in the doorway. Hermione blushed and looked down, "Sorry, wrong door." The man smiled and opened the door further and motioned for her to step inside, "Please, Ms. Granger, step inside. I've been waiting a long time for you." Hermione dropped the photo album and pulled out her wand. "Stupefy!" She exclaimed, falling back against the opposite wall. A shot of red sparks erupted from her wand, and passed directly through the man. He looked down at Hermione and laughed, "Us Muggles have had to come up with a lot of ways to protect against your spells. What you're looking at now is a hologram." Hermione shook her head in disbelief, maybe she wasn't as familiar with Muggle technology as she thought. "Who are you?" Hermione asked. Suddenly, the man flickered a blue light and disallowed. A second later, he appeared again and walked out of the room, into the hallway, and extended a hand out towards Hermione. "My name is Nick Fury, and I'm here to recruit you for the Avengers Initiative."

Hermione grasped his hand, only to be sure that he was real this time, and he was. Hermione looked up in disbelief, "But... where are my parents?" Nick opened the door and picked up the remote to a television. "Come in, let me show you that they're all right." Nick beckoned her to follow, and she hesitatantly agreed. Hermione entered the room and kept her back to the wall, gripping her wand tightly in her hand. Nick stood on the other side of the room and turned on a large television, and after a moment of static, Hermione's parents appeared. They were eating cereal and reading the newspaper as sunlight poured in from a window behind them.

"This a live feed. We found them last year and moved them to America," Nick explained, "they're doing well. We told them about you and how you were working for us, but not about Hogwarts or the Wizard War." Hermione was stunned, a tear rolled down her cheek. "I still don't understand... you need to tell me exactly where they are before we start talking about my employment opportunities." Nick's face softened, "We took them to 2440 Sutter St in Indianapolis-"

Hermione looked up sharply and smiled, "Gotcha!" Then she disappeared in a puff of pink smoke with a loud CRACK.

Nick Fury stood still for a moment, waiting to make sure she was gone. He turned his head to the television, and watched as the two dentists moved away from the table. When he saw Hermione enter his view, he turned off the television in order to give his newest recruit some privacy. He shook his head and laughed to himself, "I always forget what kind of shit these guys can do." A ringing hit his ears, and Fury pulled his cell phone to his ear to answer it. A woman's voice came in over the receiver, "Disapparition, nothing we could have done about it sir, except maybe not tell her where we put her parents." Nick laughed and gave a middle finger to the surveillance camera hidden in the plant in the corner of the room. "Commander Hill, if she doesn't trust us, there isn't a chance in hell that she would help us at all, and we need her help. Now, give me a status report on Operation Harbinger."

"Yes, sir. Thor and the Captain just landed in Perth to meet up with you and the Black Widow. Team B is fully prepared in Singapore, except for the mole we have implanted in the Red Skull's entourage. The last message we received indicates that they will land in 14 hours with an extremely powerful energy weapon." Maria Hill answered him quickly, she was his best and most loyal agent in SHIELD. "But sir, if Granger doesn't come back, or if we wait to long for her, you'll be cutting it close to arrive in Singapore." Nick Fury grew stern, "Are you questioning my leadership, Commander?" His question was met with a few seconds of silence before she responded. "No, sir. I'll keep an eye on the cameras, sir. Over and out."

Nick put his phone away and sat on the couch. "You're right, there's no telling how long it will take for Hermione to reunite with her parents, or if Hermione will return at all..". Nick said to himself as he sat in silence, waiting for another puff of smoke. Just as he was nodding off, another CRACK jolted him awake. Nick Fury stood up and turned to the beautiful witch who had reappeared in the apartment.

"So," Hermione said with a coy smile, "Tell me about the Avengers Initiative."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Apartment 456, Tall Tree Apartment Complex

"For the past ten years," Fury explained, "I've been assembling Earth's mightiest heroes in order to wage war against threats our planet has faced." Hermione's expression darkened, "I didn't see or hear much about that when Voldemort was taking over all of the Wizarding World. Where were you then?" Nick held his hands up in guilt, "I'm sorry, Hermione. The Ministry of Magic has always kept us at arm's length. Dumbledore was the last Wizard who kept us in the loop, and after his death we had nobody to give us information about the war."

Hermione lifted her wand and pointed it at Nick, "What's stopping me from wiping your mind about the Wizarding World completely?" Nick smiled and feigned nervousness, "I was hoping you would trust me. You're from our world, and we need somebody with your skills to stop the elimination of both Muggle and Wizardkind alike."

Hermione grew curious, she was playing with her long hair as she thought about all of the implications of these revelations. "Mr. Fury, why wouldn't you recruit Harry Potter, or an established Auror?" She asked him, already knowing the answer. Nick smiled, he knew that Hermione was a sucker for flattery. "Because none of them are as talented as you are. Harry Potter could barely handle Voldemort, and probably has deep psychological problems after a childhood of abuse. And no Auror would dare risk a cushy job at the Ministry in order to help some Muggles." Hermione blushed and smiled ear to ear. "Well, if you really need me, I suppose I could assist you. What are you asking of me?"

Nick let out a breath of relief, and turned the television back on. An image of Hermione's parents hugging each other and crying in joy was visible before Nick quickly changed the channel. Now the screen showed a man with an unnaturally gaunt red face holding a shining, blue capsule. "This is Red Skull," Fury explained to Hermione, "fifty years ago we defeated him and kept him from getting a mystical item full of magical energy called The Tesseract. Now, our intelligence says he's meeting in Singapore with a collection of villains in order to ally together. We don't know if what he has is The Tesseract, but we do know that the last time he got his hands on magical energy, he almost ended the world.

"Right now, two of my best men, Captain America and Thor, are on their way here. We were hoping you could apparate us to Singapore, to meet up with the rest of the team and stop Red Skull." Fury looked at his watch, "We have almost twenty hours, so if you're on board, you can get some rest. But if not, I need to know now so I can divert a plane to take us there." Hermione was still staring at the television when she answered, "Of course I'll help you. Now, I've had a long day, I'm going to lie down in there," she pointed to the bedroom, "you can take the couch." Nick nodded and moved to the windowsill, "Of course. Good night, Ms. Granger."

Hermione went into the bedroom and threw her bag on the bed. She stared at the wall and slapped her palms to her forehead. _Thor?_ Hermione thought to herself, _I'm going to be working with a literal god?_ Hermione laid down on the bed, she was mentally exhausted from the information she had just received. Dumbledore worked with a Muggle organization called SHIELD, and now she would be following in his footsteps. Hermione considered if all of this was true, then resigned herself to the fact that the only real way to find out is to get first hand experience.

Hermione lifted herself off the bed and walked into the attached bathroom. The large tub appeared to be clean, and Hermione looked at it longingly. _Do I have time?_ She wondered to herself. Hermione examined herself in the mirror, she was wearing a white blouse and tight, black pencil skirt. She had needed it to blend in, but had underestimated the heat of Australia. She had sweat through her blouse completely, and her black bra was visible through the shirt. Hermione stripped the Muggle clothes off, and entered the bathtub. _If I'm going to be one of Earth's mightiest heroes, I might as well be clean._

When Hermione left the bathroom, she was totally clean. She crawled under the covers, gripping her wand under the pillow. She sat up in the bed, and pointed her wand towards the door, the windows, and all four walls. She whispered Protection spells to herself, "Cave inimicum, protego, Fianto Duri, Repello Muggletum..." Hermione laid her head on the pillow, confident in her magical abilities. She set the Muggle alarm clock to go off in two hours, then Hermione closed her eyes, eager to drift off to sleep.

When Hermione woke up, she got dressed in her witch clothes: Grey robes with a burgundy and gold trim. She considered putting on her witch hat, but decided it would be too on the nose for the rest of the Avengers. Hermione emerged from the room and saw Nick Fury seated at the kitchen table speaking to Captain America. Thor was stretched out on the couch, and all three of them were wearing full gear. The Black Widow entered the room at the same time as Hermione, giving her a nod of approval.

The men stood up and smiled as Hermione entered the room carrying her bag. Nick Fury produced some papers and laid them on the table, beckoning the team over. Hermione looked over them, recognizing them to be satellite images of the Pacific Islands. Nick laid a finger on top of an airport near Singapore. "We need to be here," he said gruffly. Captain America leaned down over the table, looking Hermione in the eye, "Are you sure you can take all of us, Hermione? Maybe we should go one at a time." Hermione saw Black Widow roll her eyes behind him.

Without a word, Hermione ran her arm around Thor's and grabbed Captain America's hand on the table. With her other arm, she wrapped it around Nick's shoulder and touched Black Widow's arm. Hermione closed her eyes and when she opened them, she was standing outside an airplane hanger. Black Widow was leaning against the hanger with her eyes wide in surprise. Captain America and Nick Fury fell to the ground, heaving. Thor seemed unphased as he held his hand in the air, "You forgot to bring Mjolnir," he commented to Hermione. A few seconds later, Thor's hammer flew into his hand and he caught it lazily.

Hermione smiled at the two male humans as they stood up panting, "Okay, what else do you need from me?" Nick and Steve smiled at each other. "We need to find some cover while we wait for the Red Skull to arrive, then we need to follow him to wherever he's meeting his friends." Steve nodded in agreement, "We want to have all of our rotten eggs in one basket, the. We're going to blow up the basket."

Hermione smiled and put her hand out with her palm facing up. Then she looked around and made eye contact with each member of the team. One by one they each placed their hands on top of Hermione's. Nick was the last to do so, but when he did all five of them disappeared with another loud CRACK.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Singapore Changi Airport

Business Class Locker Room, 1:00 PM

"You know, I thought this would be much more glamorous," Hermione commented to the Black Widow, "This locker room smells like body odor!" Natasha Romanoff smiled at her new partner as she worked her literal magic. " _Alohamora_ ," Hermione said as she waved her wand over one of the lockers. The padlock clicked open and Hermione opened the door and pulled out two Muggle suits. Natasha Romanoff threw the suits to Captain America and Thor while Hermione cast another spell on the locker, " _Capacious extremis_!" Nick Fury then shoved the bodies of the two witnesses that the Avengers had encountered when they apparated into the First Class Lounge. The inside of the locker was now a small room, and the unconscious men fell inside easily.

"We only have an hour left until the Red Skull's plane lands," Nick said as Captain America and Thor struggled to get into the undersized suits, "You too will be in charge of following Skull to his base as close as you can. Natasha and Hermione will be functioningg as backup and observing from a distance." Hermione pointed her wand at Thor and Captain America, casting non-verbal spells to fit the suits around their massive, muscular bodies. "I'll be meeting up with the B-Team, and we'll join you once you arrive at the meeting place," Fury continued, "once we're all present, we can light up the bad guys and all go home." Natasha and Hermione tried to pay attention, but were distracted by the incredibly handsome men standing in front of them. Steve and Thor had transformed into two tall, blonde versions of James Bond. Steve turned to Nick, "I doubt the Red Skull will look like his usual self, how will we identify him?" Nick responded immediately, "You won't be looking for him, you'll be looking for Agent Carter who has inserted herself into his entourage." Steve was stunned as Fury continued, "By the way, we'll also have to keep Red Skull from recognizing you..." Fury gestured to Hermione. Steve turned and found Hermione pointing her wand in his face. "I'm so sorry about this Steve, because you're so hot," Hermione apologized, "but I'll be able to undo this later."

White sparks erupted from her wand, landing on Steve's face. Red blotches and swellings appeared across his face, altering and disguising his once perfect features. Hermione then picked up her leather bag and shoved Captain America's shit and shield into it, then she offered it to Thor as he dropped Mjolnir into it. Hermione watched the magical hammer fall into the darkness, and then waited a few seconds for the metallic thud that indicated it reached the bottom.

Nick saluted Natasha and Captain America, who returned the gesture. The three men departed. Natasha and Hermione waited for a few moments in silence, then entered the main concourse of the airport. " _Repello Muggletum_ " Hermione said as she raised her hand over the pair of women as they walked through the airport. Hermione kept her other arm intertwined with Natasha's, "This charm should keep other Muggles from paying us any attention. Most wizards couldn't execute this spell as precisely as me, so it's a good thing your boss found me." Black Widow rolled her eyes at Hermione's bragging, but agreed that the magic was useful.

Hermione led them towards the exit of the airport, waiting for any sign of the Captain and Thor. The women stood alone for a long time, scanning the crowd for familiar faces. "Steve and Agent Carter are kind of an item," Natasha blurted out to Hermione, "So it's kind of a big deal that we all get out of this safely." Hermione was stunned for a second, _This is just like my sixth year of Hogwarts all over again! So much drama!_ Hermione managed to compose herself and finally responded, "I didn't know that, I hope it doesn't affect the mission." Natasha nodded silently and turned her attention back to the crowd.

"There they are!" Hermione exclaimed as she pointed at the deformed Steve Rogers. Ten meters away was Thor, walking parallel to the Captain. Hermione tried to determine who exactly they were following, and soon spotted three blonde characters walking towards a row of large black cars. _The woman must be Fury's agent_ , Hermione guessed, _and the tallest man must be our target... and who is number three?_ Just then, the third person Steve and Thor were following turned his head to glance about the crowd. His eyes froze on Hermione and the Black Widow as he froze in place. "Mudblood," he mouthed at Hermione. "Malfoy," she mouthed back. _How quickly we revert to our old ways..._

Hermione released the Muggle repellent charm and pushed Natasha to the ground. " _Finestra_!" Malfoy screamed, pointing his wand at the facade of the airport. Above her, Hermione saw a hundred panes of glass explode towards her and the Muggle crowd. " _Protega Maxima_ " she yelled while pointing her wand upward. She falling shards of glass bounced harmlessly away from the crowd onto the floor in tiny pieces. Hermione turned her attention back to the targets. They had jumped into the middle of five black SUV's. Thor and Captain America managed to leap onto the last of the vehicles as they pulled away. The chase was on!

Hermione opened her bag, and Mjolnir flew out of it towards Thor. Then she pulled out a broomstick and lifted Natasha off of the ground. Hermione mounted the broom, a Firebolt, and Natasha got on it behind her. They lifted off and pursued the motorcade. "Open my bag!" Hermione yelled back to Widow over the rush of air, "We need to get Steve his shield!" Black Widow obliged as they caught up to the vehicles, and Hermione saw Captain America catch the shield as they passed them.

Hermione turned her head back to Natasha, "Should we stop them? Or are we still trying to follow them to a bigger prize?" Before Natasha could answer, a hail of gunfire came from the next SUV. A man in a black suit and sunglasses with a shaved head was firing an automatic rifle at the broomstick. Hermione was struggling to retrieve her wand when a bolt of lightning cracked past them, striking the gunner and killing him instantly. Hermione looked back again to see that Captain America was now driving, with Thor crouching on the hood, swinging Mjolnir.

Natasha waved back at Thor with one hand, the other arm gripping Hermione's stomach for dear life. "We need to make it look like Red Skull gets away from us cleanly!" Thor nodded in agreement, then leaped from Captain America's car directly on the car with the brand new corpse. Thor's velocity sent the car careening into a barrier, and multiple bodies flew from the wreck. From her peripherals, Hermione saw Thor stand up, unharmed.

Captain America's car was now catching up to Hermione, and the three remaining, identical vehicles were driving side by side, and all about to split in different directions on the highway. Hermione, Steve, and Natasha all knew that they would have to let the correct car leave unharmed, but how? Hermione brought her broom close to Steve's vehicle, and felt Natasha's weight leave the broomstick. Steve signaled to her that he would take the middle vehicle, and she responded by saying she would take the leftmost vehicle. Natasha was now standing in the car's sunroof, and Hermione saw her fire what she assumed to be a tracking device onto the rightmost vehicle.

As the remaining Avengers separated, and Hermione followed the SUV, she heard another series of gunshots. This time, she identified some as being from multiple sources, thanks to Black Widow's presence. Hermione trained her attention to the task at hand, and gained altitude on the SUV. Up ahead, there was congestion on the road, and Hermione slowed enough to be able to draw and aim her wand at the SUV. The vehicle slowed to a stop, and four figures emerged before Hermione shouted " _Reducto_!" and blew the car to smithereens. All four figures drew their weapons and fired upwards at the witch on the broom. Hermione didn't have time to be thankful she was correct that no spells were flying at her before she dived down to evade the bullets.

 _Will_ Protego _work against bullets_? She wondered, _I'll have to test that out sometime in a more reasonable environment_. " _Accio Machine Gun_ " she cried, and one of the guns flew out of a pair of hands toward the sky. Hermione managed to dive down below a concrete barrier and dismount her broomstick without being shot. She peeked over the edge and spotted the Red Skull's henchmen moving towards her three were still carrying machine guns and one was armed with a smaller pistol. Hermione whispered " _Expecto Patronum_ " and a silver otter sprang from her wand. The otter flew out from her cover and right in the middle of her opponents. Hermione heard thunderous gunfire, then lept out and yelled " _Rictusempra_ " Red tentacles erupted from her wand and engulfed one of the gunmen. They began to be tickle him, and he squeezed the trigger, shooting himself in the foot and one of his companions in the back. " _Petrificus Totalis_ " she yelled, and another one of the gunmen froze like a board and fell to the ground, dropping his gun. Hermione began walking towards the last of the men, who pointed his weapon at her. "Don't say a word, or I'll shoot!" He threatened. Hermione cast a non-verbal _Expelliarmus_ , and the gun lept from his hand. Behind her, his friend was giggling and crying from the combination of the gunshot wound and tickling charm.

The unarmed man fell to his knees, clasping his hands and pleading for mercy in a language unknown to Hermione. " _Legilimens_ " she said, and entered his mind. Seconds later she was done, with all possible meeting locations stolen from the survivor's mind. Hermione heard the sound of approaching sirens. She calmly cast _Accio_ to retrieve her Firebolt, then disappeared with another CRACK and another puff of smoke.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Loyang Avenue, 2:30 PM

Hermione reappeared next in the back seat of the vehicle Captain America had hijacked. She was alone in the car, so she leaned forward to look out the windshield and saw Natasha and Steve finishing off some of the Red Skull's henchmen. Hermione got out of the car and walked swiftly to the pair, "He wasn't in my car either, is the last one still being tracked?" Natasha reloaded her handgun, "I don't know, we'll have to monitor it at the SHIELD safe house where the B-Team and Fury are." Hermione nodded her soot stained face, exhausted from recent events, "Do I need to apparate us there?"

Natasha shook her head and pointed over Hermione's shoulder, "He can take us there." Hermione turned around as Thor landed on the highway, making a small crater. Thor stood up casually, with Mjolnir slung over his shoulder, "Are we done here?" He asked sarcastically. Black Widow led Hermione by the forearm and stood next to where Thor landed, Captain America joined them, and then Thor raised Mjolnir in the air. The four Avengers were surrounded by a million beams of bright, rainbow lights. Hermione could feel electricity coursing through her veins, and the hairs on her skin stood up. She felt her stomach drop quickly as they were thrown into the air, and was reminded of the sensations she felt the first time she used the Floo Network.

Hermione looked at her compatriots, and saw them all looking upwards, smiling as a cool wind rushed past them. She looked up as well, and saw the rainbow tunnel leading to a massive city in the clouds. _This is better than magic,_ she thought as the city grew closer. It felt like they were about to arrive and they suddenly began to drop back towards the ground. Hermione looked down and felt a rush of fear as the ground drew closer, when she looked up at Natasha, Black Widow returned her glance with a reassuring clench of her hand on Hermione's wrist.

In moments, they landed softly on the gravel of a rooftop. Hermione scanned the horizon, they were still in Singapore, but presumably miles away from the airport. She gingerly felt her stomach, somewhat nauseous, and looked at the others. Natasha and Steve were fiddling with a hatch on the rooftop. Thor walked over to Hermione confidently, "Was my magic up to snuff, compared to yours?" Hermione pushed some hair behind her ear, "Thor... that was amazing! I've never felt anything like that! And what was that city?" Thor shifted his weight, obviously happy to be held in Hermione's esteem, "That was my home, Asgard. I have a feeling that my people and yours are closely related."

Hermione was about to agree when she saw Black Widow waving her over to the now open hatch. Hermione peered down it, a metal ladder led into an empty storeroom. Natasha entered first, with her gun drawn, "Colonel Fury was supposed to be here." _So this is the site where the B-Team is_ , Hermione deduced, "Who else are we supposed to be meeting here?" Thor dropped down, ignoring the ladder, "The rest of the team, Miss Granger, they'll be pleased to meet you." Hermione climbed down the ladder with her wand in hand.

Natasha opened the door, and entered a large room with no windows. Flourescent lights hung from the ceiling, and computers and fans were clustered along the far wall, along with three women who turned around when Hermione and her friends came inside. Natasha lowered her weapon and ran over to them, pushing them aside to get a look at the computer screen. Hermione and the men followed suit. "Where's Fury?" Steve asked. One of the women, a pale woman with long, dark red hair answered in an Eastern European accent, "He never showed up, we were trying to access the satellite feed when he was late but none of us have the codes."

Natasha was bent over the keyboard, mashing away. Hermione looked over the rest of the Avengers, hoping they would introduce themselves. Her prayers were answered as a brunette leaned forward and grasped her by the hand, "I'm Hope, but this little gang calls me the Wasp. I'm also fairly new here." Hope was also pale skinned, which was made more evident by her jet black hair. She was wearing what seemed to be a yellow, metal suit of armor that had wings on it. Hermione smiled and waved to the rest, introducing herself, "I'm Hermione, Nick recruited me yesterday. I guess he wanted a witch in order to combat a wizard." The women stood there in silence, slightly shocked. Natasha glanced up at the others, "That's right. She's a witch, and Red Skull has recruited one of her old classmates, Draco Malfoy."

The pale woman with red hair introduced herself next. "Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. Different kind than you, of course." Wanda was wearing a long, red, coat with a lacy black top and tight, black skirt underneath. Hermione smiled at her fellow witch, wondering if she would also be given a moniker. A strawberry blond was last to introduce herself, "Pepper Potts, not a codename, just my given name," she said sweetly in an American accent. Pepper was much taller and more casually dressed than the others, wearing only a black tank top and jeans.

Just then, Natasha cried out, "I've found them!" The seven members of the Avengers gathered around the computer screen. A low resolution image, presumably from an airport security camera, showed Nick Fury and a naked woman with a large gun climbing out of an overturned van. Ahead of the van was one of the black SUV's, the one that Black Widow had placed a tracking device on. They were approached by Draco Malfoy, a large man, and a young woman. The naked woman's gun was suddenly flung skyward from her hands. "A disarming spell," Hermione explained to her new companions. The woman with Draco pointed her gun at fury, and after a few seconds, pulled the trigger and watched Colonel Nick Fury fall limply to the ground.

"NOOOO!" Natasha screamed at the computer, as the rest of them watched the naked woman was hoisted by her ankle and brought out of frame by Malfoy's _Levicorpus_ spell. Captain America pulled Hermione back away from the monitor and explained to her over the sound of Black Widow's wails, "That woman was Commander Maria Hill, Fury's second in command, my good friend, and our only other source of information or resources on this mission. As of now, we are officially in the dark, and you're are best bet for coming back on these guys and saving Maria."

Hermione nodded, her mind racing on how they should proceed. "That woman... I thought she was one of your associates..." Steve stood up straight and sighed, pacing away. "So did I, and she might still be with us. If her cover was blown and her mind is being controlled... Let's just say it wouldn't be the first time." Steve kicked a wall, making a hole and causing a couple of cinderblocks to fall. "And now we don't have any leads on their location!" He yelled. Hermione spoke up excitedly, anxious to make progress for their cause, "Actually, I managed to extract some locations from one of his soldiers!"

Natasha got up, tears streaming down her face. "What? Where are they going?" she asked, her voice breaking. Hermione responded confidently, "Well, I'm not entirely sure, but the back up destination for their convoy was a hotel on the waterfront, one with a helipad and multiple towers. I would recognize it if I saw it."

Captain America slapped her on the back in approval, "Well there you go, already our most useful member." Hermione felt like she had been hit by the Hogwarts Express, and felt a tinge of pity for Captain America's enemies. "We need to get out of here in twenty minutes, team. So take what you need and trash the rest, because we're going on a trip downtown." Hermione smiled, and she saw Natasha wipe her tears away and revert to her normal, dark look. _Merlin help anyone who stands in her way,_ Hermione thought, _and damn that slimy, no-good Malfoy._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Gardens Park, outside of Marina Bay Sands Hotel

6:00 PM, September 15th, 2000

Hermione leaned back in the passenger seat of the white van Natasha had commandeered for the mission, looking up at the hotel. It was the same one she had seen in the man's head on the highway, three towers standing hundreds of feet tall, connected at the top by a horizontal park. Hermione marveled at the feat of engineering, *Muggles had been driven to accomplish more with science and engineering than Wizards had with thousands of years of magic. Hermione turned back to check on the rest of the crew, who were packed tight in the back of the van. Captain America and Thor's huge bodies were taking up far more space than the average person, and were obviously encroaching on the personal space of Scarlet Witch and Pepper Potts. Hermione was about to cast an Undetectable Extension Charm when the driver's door swung open and the Black Widow entered the van. She was no longer wearing her black leather suit, but had changed into a t-shirt and jeans. Her incognito tourist outfit would have caused her to be completely undetectable if it weren't for her beautiful body causing people to stop and stare on the sidewalk.

Natasha turned to the Avengers in the back of the van, "Hope is going to do some reconnaissance for us, and find out where in this massive hotel the Red Skull is, if he's here at all." Everyone nodded solemnly, still reeling from the death of Nick Fury. Black Widow had taken command of the remaining Avengers, citing her seniority, and nobody had dared question her commands. The team sat in silence, waiting for the return of the Wasp. *I wonder if Malfoy will have set up concealment charms, Hermione wondered, *But his team would be just as hindered by them as we would. Hermione heard a quick series of knocks on the passenger's side window, and squinted to see a tiny being crawling on the outside of the glass. Hermione rolled down the window, and the creature flew inside. Hope van Dyne grew to full size in the van, falling clumsily on top of Thor. She pulled herself up and crouched between Natasha and Hermione.

"No sign of Maria or Sharon," She panted, hot in her armor, "but I think we're in the right place. I've never seen so many thugs. It looks like they've got the top few floors all booked, but I couldn't get close to the top floor for some reason." Black Widow glared at the Wasp, her voice shaking with rage "What do you mean? Why didn't you check it?" "It's probably a spell designed to scare off Muggles," Hermione interjected, "But they won't be able to keep it up forever, not if the Red Skull wants to do business with other non-magic folk." Natasha nodded and turned back to Hope, who continued "I definitely saw Batoc, Crossbones, and Killmonger. I'm pretty sure I saw Justin Hammer and Wilson Fisk, all with their entourages, but there's still no sign of Loki." Hermione looked back at Thor, "Loki?" she asked.

Thor rolled his eyes, fiddling with his hammer, "My brother has been harassing the people of Earth for some time now, usually getting involved with deep magic." "And he loves to show up at the most inconvenient times," added Captain America. Pepper Potts, who was sitting in the back of the van, tried to stand up, but was far too tall and ended up hunched over Steve's shoulders. "What's our plan?" She asked, obviously worried. "Even if we get into a fight with them, we don't know where Maria is, or if we can still trust Sharon." Natasha turned to Hermione, "I have a plan, but we'll need to get past the anti-Muggle barrier." Hermione weighed her options for a minute, "If we can get past the barrier and find a safe space, I could bring all of us to the top floor, but we'll have to enter from within the building without being seen. We don't want to risk them realizing they're under attack."

Natasha sighed, resting her hands on the steering wheel. "Okay then. Let's save the world."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Lobby

7:00 PM

Pepper Potts strutted towards the front desk wearing a white suit, with a white blouse underneath. Her hair fell straight and her face was scrubbed clean, thanks to some quick wandwork by Hermione. "It's after Labor Day," Pepper whispered to Hope, who was sitting in her breast pocket, "I can't believe this is the only suit I brought." Hermione had offered to change it's coloring, but Natasha nipped that idea in the bud due to potential "magic detectors."

Pepper reached the front desk, where a short woman with side swept black hair stood. "May I help you, madam?" She asked the tall, beautiful Pepper. "Yes, I was hoping to get a room. The best one you have, please" Pepper said as she flashed the AmEx Black card Tony had given her. The desk clerk took the card and swiped it, "Can we help you with any bags? How long will you be staying with us?" Pepper improvised, realizing she had not planned this out beforehand, "Just one night, please. I just have a layover, and my bags are on the plane." The desk clerk was typing away, "I'll arrange for a car to pick you up in the morning. Your room number will be 5001, please let the floor butler know if you need anything."

Pepper took her keycard and thanked the hotel worker, then proceeded to the elevator, checking her watch as she clutched her handbag, "Fifty-five minutes, Hope." The Wasp didn't respond as the elevator opened. Three young women got out, laughing to each other in Mandarin. Pepper stepped aside to let them pass, but there were still two men in the elevator. They were both dressed in black suits with thin white pinstripes running down them. "Going up?" the taller of the two asked in a German accent. Pepper entered the elevator and decided to take a chance, "As far as I can go." She entered the elevator and reached forward to press the button for the rooftop terrace, but one of the men grabbed her wrist. "I'm sorry, the top few floors are under construction at the moment."

"Oh." Pepper said meekly, and resigned to pressing the button for the fiftieth floor. The elevator flew up quickly, but to Pepper the ride felt like a lifetime. She could feel the two men behind her, certain villains, keeping their eyes on her. Eventually, there was a crisp "Ding!" and the doors slid open. Pepper stepped out onto the soft, seafoam green carpet and turned left, walking swiftly away from the elevator. When she arrived at her room, she locked the door behind her and slid to the floor with a breath of relief.

Hope van Dyne materialized out of thin air, "No time to rest, we need to move up five floors to find where Maria and Sharon are." The Wasp's wings buzzed as she fluttered about the foyer. Pepper had booked a massive suite with a hot tub, grand piano, and bar. "I hope this doesn't hurt Stark's wallet." Hope said as she went to the wall and pressed a button on the wall, and then shrunk to an inch tall. Pepper stood up and straightened her clothing, and a few moments later there was a knocking on the door. Pepper unlocked the door and opened it, "My husband has ordered me a personal massage from an outside vendor" Pepper said as curtly as she could to the floor's butler, a young man in a jet black uniform, "a young woman will be hand delivering it to my door. Is that clear?" Pepper reached into her bag and handed the butler a wad of bills. "Of course, madam." The butler said, and bowed as Pepper closed the door.

Hope and Pepper paced about the room, both of their eyes trained on the oven's clock as the minutes ticked away. It was 7:15 when another knock came on the door. Pepper opened the door to find Scarlet Witch standing in the doorway with the butler behind her. Wanda Maximoff turned around and waved her hands in front of the butler's face, and a flash of red appeared in his eyes before he collapsed to the ground, snoring. "They work these poor boys so hard," Wanda said with her thick Sokovian accent as she dragged the butler into the suite, "He'll be out for a while. Did you meet our friends in the elevator?"

"Yes," Answered Pepper as she stepped out in the hall with the Wasp perched on her shoulder, "They didn't seem to have the top floors locked off physically." Wanda and Pepper moved to the elevator and pressed the button to go up. They stepped to the side as they waited for the chime of the elevator arriving. When the doors opened, Pepper watched as the tiny Wasp flew into the lift. The thugs didn't have time to speak, but Pepper heard their grunts mixed in with a series of hard thuds. When Wanda and Pepper looked inside, the men were both lying prone on the elevator floor. Wanda grew to full size holding two hand guns, which she handed to Scarlet Witch and Pepper Potts. Pepper watched Wanda tuck it behind her into her waistband and pull her jacket to conceal it, and then followed suit.

Wanda got on her knees and used her telepathy on the two men, who stood up straight. "Good thing Hydra tends to hire weak minded fools." Wanda commented as Hope shrunk once more and pressed the button for the fifty-fifth floor. The button didn't light up. Wanda tried again, kicking it with her tiny feet, but to no avail. "Of course it couldn't be that easy." Pepper said, trying the button for the terrace, and then for the fifty-fourth floor. Only her final choice seemed to work, and the door slid close and their ascent began again.

Pepper checked her watch, "Forty minutes."


End file.
